The end?
by myrninxmorganvillevampiresx
Summary: Sequel to MIND OVER MATTER...OR FRIENDS? Claire is finally out from under Bishop's mind controlling influence, but she still has her own problems, and whe these problems start to effect those around her, what can she do?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, before the story, I'd just like to thank all of the people who reviewed 'Mind over Matter… or Friends?' because you all convinced me to do a sequel! So I hope you enjoy, and keep reviewing please!**

Claire woke up with a gasp, waking Shane. He made a startled noise and sat up, ready for action, before he realised the problem. 'It's okay' he soothed Claire, rubbing her back. 'You're here now, nothing's happened'.

Claire turned to him with tear-filled eyes. She sobbed once and buried her face in his chest, shaking. They sat like that for a minute, until Claire managed to get control of herself and sat back, wiping tears from her eyes. Shane opened his mouth to say something, but Claire needed to get it off her chest.

'It was so scary' she whispered 'But I can't remember what it was about!' Shane watched her with concern. Claire paused, then blurted 'What if he comes back?'

Shane immediately reassured her. 'Claire, listen to me. Bishop can not get out of jail. He's not going anywhere.' He said each word slowly. Claire felt her heart rate finally return to normal at the words, and replied 'I know. It's so stupid but-' 'It's not stupid' Shane interrupted her. 'After what he made you do…' a dark look crossed Shane's face before he continued.

'I will never let him hurt you again Claire, I love you.' Claire smiled and thanked him before leaning in for a kiss.

* * *

'Claire? Claire!' Claire jumped slightly and turned to face Myrnin. 'What?' she asked, startled. Myrnin tsked and hit her gently on the head with a rolled up newspaper. 'Stop drifting off, you do no one any good when you are not focused.' Claire mumbled an apology and tried to get her head back into reality.

She realised that she'd been staring into space for a while, and it worried her. It had been two weeks since Bishop was put into jail, but she was still having nightmares, ones that she couldn't remember when she woke up, but that left her feeling scared and alone. Luckily Shane was usually with her when she woke up, but he couldn't be there all the time…

Now she was staring into space for minutes at a time, and it was worrying her. She couldn't shake the feeling that _somehow _Bishop had escaped, and he was coming for her… but that was stupid. Bishops execution date was set, and soon he would be out of her life forever.

The feeling stayed with her though, all the way through her time at the lab, and even when she got home. She finally managed to shake it off when Shane came home smelling of barbeque and sat snuggled up to him when they watched a movie with Michael and Eve.

Eve still gave her funny looks every now and then, and it hurt Claire to see that her best friend was having trouble totally trusting her, but she just pretended not to see whenever it happened.

That night she fell asleep with Shane's arm around her, feeling tentatively peaceful and happy…ish.


	2. Chapter 2

She was in a dark place.

She couldn't see anything.

She was terrified.

A low laugh echoed all around her.

She whirled, nothing.

Another laugh, tormenting.

Turning, blackness.

A whisper in her ear.

_I am coming for you._

A shriek came from upstairs, filled with terror, and on auto pilot, Shane ran up the stairs, followed by Eve, clomping in her heavy duty boots.

'Claire?' Shane opened the door wide, revealing a shaking Claire, white as a sheet and breathing heavily. There was a sheen of sweat on her forehead and her hair was plastered to her face. He sat down on the bed next to her and put his arm around her while Eve remained at the doorway, hesitating.

'Another nightmare?' Shane asked, guessing the answer correctly. Claire wrung the sheets in her hands anxiously and nodded. 'I remembered it' she said in a quavering voice. Eve blinked and sat down on the bed on the other side, as if she hadn't just been standing in the doorway, scared. Claire glanced at her, then away.

'I was in a dark place' she began quietly, trying very hard not to cry. _Come on, just tell them already_ she thought.

When she finished, they were both silent. Panic fluttered inside her, and she shoved it down. She risked a glance at Eve, and saw that her friend was very pale under all the make up. Claire wasn't the only one who was scared.

It made her feel terrible. Here she was, thinking about herself for the past two weeks, when Eve had been having a much worse time recovering from…the wound. Claire knew that Eve was still slightly wary of her, and it hurt her deep inside, made it difficult to breathe when she thought of the reason why. But, still. She should be trying to do something.

She opened her mouth, then closed it.

What could she say? _Hey Eve, I know I've been avoiding you for the past two weeks after I cut open your shoulder while under the influence of a crazy old vampire, but hey, can we just forget about that and be friends again?_ Yeah, she didn't think so.

She jumped slightly as Shane abruptly spoke. 'I hate this'. It burst out of him in a rush of air. Claire and Eve looked at him, wide eyed, as he continued. 'Why did he have to do this to us? I hate him. Now you're having nightmares'-this looking at Claire- 'and you tiptoe round the house looking like she's going to sprout claws and fangs' Eve coloured slightly at this accusation, but she didn't deny it.

Shane was breathing heavily, and Claire rested her hand on his shoulder. 'Hey' she said softly. Shane looked at her with a trapped look in his eyes. 'It's okay. We're…' fine would a stretch, given the circumstances 'okay.' But Shane just looked at her with a look in his eyes that she couldn't understand. 'No, we're not.' And with that he left the room.

Claire and Eve sat there for a moment in stunned and awkward silence until they both tried to speak at the same time. They laughed nervously and smiled.

'Eve' Claire started 'I am _so_ sorry-' Eve interrupted her saying 'No Claire, it wasn't your fault, you've got nothing to apologise for-' 'But I do! I put you in hospital Eve, and you can't pretend to be okay with that, because I-' at this point Claire's voice broke and Eve hugged her.

After a moment they drew apart and both wiped their eyes. Their smiles were shaky, but the best friend bond had been fixed.

Claire could almost forget about her dream, until she saw Shane sitting on the sofa, blasting the hell out of zombies with an unhappy look on his face.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm so sorry for the wait! I have't really had time lately, but here's my new Chapter. It's short I know, but I still hope that you'll review! Please?**

'Claire-' 'What?!' she answered back snappishly. The annoyed look on Myrnins face did nothing to improve Claire's mood. 'You know, if you actually let me finish my sentences from time you might _actually_ find out what I'm going to say. It's a basic rule of society. In my day…' Claire tuned out the rest of Myrnin's rant. She realised that she had been snapping at him all day, and not just him, but everyone. She couldn't help it, not really. Today was… _his_ execution. It had been a week since she had made up with Eve, and that had helped slightly, but it wasn't enough to get rid of the nagging feeling at the back of her head… she quickly switched her train of thought. The more she focused on other stuff, the happier she was. 'Sorry.' She interrupted Myrnin's rant, which had somehow got onto the subject of ancient Egyptians…

On the way home, Claire breathed in the hot air of Morganville and tried to put her mind at ease. She hadn't confided in Shane since his outburst, afraid it would make him do something stupid, like breaking into jail to kill Bishop himself… and in all honesty Claire could imagine him doing it. That was what scared her, so she didn't tell him anything anymore. She had received a letter from Amelie the other day, inviting her to the execution. It was still in Claire's backpack, shoved in there after she had read it. But she still knew what time it was at, in fact it was only a few hours away… Claire shook her head and tried to focus her thoughts on more positive things. When she pushed open the door to the Glass House, she was in a slightly better mood, but this was destroyed almost as soon as she saw who was sitting on the couch.

**Ooooooh, can you guess who it is? Please review, your comments really help me!**


	4. Chapter 4

** The wait is over! Sorry for the delay, but I've been working on my other story, 'Lying Secrets' (Check it out?) so I haven't really been focusing on this one, but now you get to know who is in the Glass house, and what news they bring...**

Detectives Joe Hess and Travis Low both stood up as she paused in the doorway, staring. "We hope you don't mind Claire, we let ourselves in. There wasn't anyone in the house" A thousand terrible reasons flashed through Claire's head and she shut the door quickly. "W-Why are you here?" her mouth was suddenly dry, and she had to try twice to ask the question. The two detectives exchanged a look and waved for her to sit down. Claire moved towards the couch, but didn't sit down. She look at them expectantly. Her hands were sweating and her heart was racing. Was it Shane? Eve, Michael? With a deep frown on his face, Hess spoke up. "The thing is Claire, there's not really an easy way to say this, but-" "Is it Eve?" she butted in. But she couldn't see them waiting especially for her to tell her that something had happened to Eve, they'd go to Michael first, and why would they have so much trouble saying it? Unless, it was something to do with her…

Even as Hess reassured her that Eve was perfectly fine, the pieces were slowly clicking together for Claire. "Oh god" she moaned. "It's – it's.." she couldn't seem to find the words, but just by looking at her face, the detectives could see that Claire had figured it out for herself. "Yeah." Detective Low said glumly. "The thing we're trying to tell you, is that earlier today, Bishop escaped from his cell."

* * *

Claire sat on the couch an hour later, staring into space and shivering. After hearing the words straight from the detectives mouth, Claire had sunk onto the furniture, feeling as if all the breath had been knocked out of her. "No" she'd moaned. Hess and Lowe had rushed to assure her that they had everyone on the lookout, and patrols searching the town high and low. She'd replied, said something, but she couldn't remember what it was. She just remembered the sad look that Hess had given her as they were leaving.

_You knew really,_ a small part of Claire whispered. _You knew he was too strong to be contained by them_. _That's why you were so scared all day, snapping at everyone, because you knew he was going to escape, and come here…_ Claire shook her head violently, trying to get rid of her thoughts, but couldn't help the goose bumps that rippled over her skin and the hairs that stood up on the back of her neck. She gasped and spun round, sure that someone was watching, but there was no one there. _He won't come straight away, he'll need to get settled back in, find somewhere he can't be discovered…_Claire was almost comforted by this fact. Sighing, she switched the TV on and tried to focus on it, and get away from all the swirling thoughts in her head. It didn't work very well, and she shrieked when a voice spoke up from behind her.

"Hey Claire" Michael stood at the bottom of the stairs, a puzzled look on his face as he noted her reaction. "Oh, Michael, you-you gave me a shock". She laughed shakily, but Michael wasn't fooled. "What's wrong? You're all jumpy" she bit her lip and looked away, debating. She might be able to keep it from Eve and Shane, but Michael, with his spidey-senses, would be able to tell straight away. Plus he was her landlord. That had to count for something, right? She look back at Michael, meeting his gaze tentatively. "It's… Bishop. He's – back". Michael's eyes widened and he opened his mouth but Claire interrupted him. "There's nothing you can say" she told him, adding more gently "Not really." He frowned. "But Claire…" "Don't tell Eve and Shane, Michael, please" she pleaded with him. "They'll only try to make it better, and they can't, no one can. He's not going to be caught again, and he's not going to mysteriously disappear. He came here for the book, and he's not leaving until he gets what he wants." Michael looked slightly concerned by her outburst but nodded slowly. "I can understand that. But are you sure you don't want to tell anyone? It's a hard thing to do, keep secrets in this house. I should know" memories of Michael-ghost came into Claire's head, but she nodded resolutely. "I'm sure" He sighed, and padded towards the kitchen, most likely to get rid of that red tinge he had in his eyes.

**Don't read without reviewing! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 is here, sorry for the wait!**

He waits in the shadows, pale and hungry, watching her from the darkness. He can still hear the bustle of movement around him, meaning that the irritating human authorities are still searching for him. In between their noises, he can hear the faint _swish_ of material and the clip-clop of shoes on the sidewalk, a reminder of the other authorities that roam the streets at night. Still, roughly half of them were still loyal to him, and the other half could be easily persuaded.

He watched the human girl sitting down to tea with her companions, and allowed himself a small satisfied smile at the way her shoulders were tensed, her eyes darting towards every shadow, the slight jump whenever there was a loud noise. She knew he was there, oh yes, it might have been subconsciously, but Claire Danvers knew that Bishop waited in the cold dark streets of Morganville, and that he was coming for her, _soon_.

* * *

Claire frowned down at her plate of spaghetti bolognese, not even remotely hungry. Shane and Eve traded insults across the table, just like any other night, as Shane shovelled down his pasta in record time and Eve picked at her food. Michael was absent, said he was going to be late, and so Claire sat, alone in her thoughts until a nudge from Shane brought her back to the present. "You gonna eat that?" he asked her, grinning. She shook her head with a small smile. "Not hungry" shrugging, he reached and traded plates, hoovering up her lukewarm bolegnese. She pulled up her feet to rest on the chair and leant her head against her knees. When Shane (in between a mouth full of food) asked her if she was okay, she stood, and told him she wasn't feeling too well and was going to bed early.

_At least he seems to be in a better mood lately_ she thought to herself, as she ascended the stairs. That was one of the many reasons she refused to tell either Shane or Eve the news of Bishops return. She had just regained her friendship with Eve, and it was too soon to destroy that. But Claire knew she was just avoiding the main reason.

_If he did it once, he can do it again, and it's probably even easier for him the second time around._

There was a very real risk that Bishop was going to try and get Claire back under his control. The more people Claire told, the more people would look at her suspiciously, gauging her every movement, wondering if she was _truly_ herself. It was a petty, shallow reason not to tell her boyfriend and best friend about Bishops return, and Claire wasn't happy about it. But she just wanted a normal life for as long as she could.

Sinking even further into a depressed state, Claire pulled back the covers and slid into bed, not even bothering to get changed.

* * *

_Thump_. The body landed on the back porch, blood pooling beneath it, filling the gaps in between the wooden planks, spreading out. Bishop stepped back and admired the effect it gave. The person that opened that door was going to get a shock, a very big one. He looked for a moment longer, then turned around, ready to find his next victim, his fangs already protruding from his gums in anticipation.

**Well? Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 is here!** **Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!**

A bloodcurdling scream woke Claire from her sleep. Only half aware of what she was doing, on auto-pilot, she ran into the hallway, almost colliding with a bedraggled Shane. They stumbled down the stairs, Shane a few steps ahead of her, and they ran into the kitchen, where Eve was still screaming.

She had both hands slapped over her mouth to muffle the sound, but it was still coming through, loud and clear. Claire stood in front of her friend and grabbed her shoulders. "Eve? Eve!" Eve slowly looked at Claire, her scream trailing off. "What's wrong?" she asked softly. In response, Eve raised a shaking hand to the back door, which had slammed shut when Eve had stumbled backwards. Shane cautiously crept towards the door, then swung it open, causing it to crash against the wall.

Claire gasped as red spilled across the threshold, pooling in the cracks between the tiles. She got a glimpse of a shape lying on the ground, battered and broken, before Shane swung the door closed with a loud bang, breathing heavily. "Oh god" Claire said softly as Shane cursed under his breath.

"Oh god oh god ohgod ohgod ohgodohgodohgod" Her voice grew more and more strained as the reason behind the body sank in. Claire leant against the counter for support as her head fell into her hands._ He's back. He's back. I knew it. Did you really think he would leave you alone, Claire? You're his pawn, and he wants all his players on the board before he starts another war. _

She didn't realise she said anything aloud until she glimpsed Shane looking at her with an odd look on his face. "What did you say?" he asked her quizzically. Eve stared too, and she had obviously heard whatever had slipped past Claire's lips unnoticed by herself. "Who's back-" the end of the sentence was clipped short as Eve stared at her with fear. "He- _He's_ back?" All Claire could do was nod glumly, after a slight hesitation. Shane was catching on as well, and the angry set of his shoulders told her what he felt about it. Claire stared at her shoes, then startled, took a step back, the blood had almost reached her sneakers. The _blood. _

Claire's stomach clenched as she thought of the misshapen form on their back porch. Shane sighed and ran a hand through his hair, before saying "We need to call the cops. Tell them about this." Eve nodded, her hand now clasped tight around Claire's as tears ruined her goth perfection.

An hour and a half later, the police had come and gone, including their favourite vampire detectives, and the body with it, along with the blood from the kitchen floor. They had been asked numerous questions, but to Claire's relief, none about her knowledge of Bishops escape. But it was still there, gnawing away at her head, the knowledge that she had tried to keep them in the dark and now _this. _So she told them.

As expected, they were angry. Claire's hand felt cold and empty without Eve's, even with the heat form their scorching gazes hot on her face. "How could you?!" Claire shrank further into her seat, but met Eve's angry face with a steady look of her own. "I was trying to protect you" she said, unease twisting her gut. "What? Ok, so I now know that a psychotic crazy bad-ass old vampire is on the loose again, and to protect my friends, I _won't tell them?!_ Eve's voice grew higher as the sentence wore on and Claire saw Shane wince slightly as she finished.

"Yes!" Claire felt a spark of defiance and used that to fuel her words. "If you knew that Bishop was out there again, then you'd just try to protect me again, and you _can't!_"

Silence blanketed the room as Shane and Eve digested her words. "So" Shane started slowly "What you're basically saying is that we're too weak to protect you?" Claire was cut off as she tried to deny it. "Thanks a lot Claire, I guess I know what you _really_ think of me now." This was Eve and it broke Claire's heart a little to see the contempt on her best friends face. Shane just looked hurt, and Claire was dying to reach out and comfort him, but how could she when _she _was the cause?

Simmering with anger, Eve grabbed her keys and stomped out the front door, as Shane did the same up to his room. Claire was left sitting in the room by herself, as tears threatened to break free and stream down her face.

Taking a deep breath, Claire suddenly felt claustrophobic. The house seemed crushing and depressed after the argument, almost like it was reacting to the negative events. Hell, maybe it was. Grabbing her coat, Claire opened the door and slipped out into the street, where clouds obscured the sun, echoing Claire's mood.

Aimlessly, she wandered down the street thinking hard about her actions. Had she really needed to protect them? Passing an alleyway, Claire stumbled slightly, tripping on something. She turned around, but was mystified when there was nothing there. She resumed walking, then stopped when she tried to think of what she had just been thinking of. What had it been? She'd just… she'd just? It felt somehow like it was ages ago. Shaking her head in confusion Claire walked along the street, noticing after a few turns that she had somehow managed to get herself nearly halfway across town. How on earth had that happened? She'd only been walking a few minutes… even as she thought that, Claire felt herself shiver as a sharp wind blew, and she glanced up, startled to see that it was just past dusk, and getting dark fast.

Panicking slightly, Claire corrected her course and walked back to the Glass house, sure that something was going to jump out from an alley at any moment, so much so that she found herself surprised when she got home without incident. Shane was on the Xbox, giving her the silent treatment, so Claire was pretty confident that Eve was doing the same. She trudged up to her room to do some studying, unaware that there _had_ in fact, already been an incident…

**Oooo whats going on? Mwuhaha can you guess? Reviewreviewreview!**


	7. Authors note

**Sorry, this isn't a new chapter! :(**

**I really can't think of anything to write about, so I was thinking that you could comment/pm me any ideas that you have? **

**It would help so much, and I'll probably use a mix of everyone's ideas, so your idea might be included!**

**Pleaseee help me on this, I appreciate it loads!**

**Thanks,**

**myrninxmorganvillevampiresx**


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